News On TNA Impact Wrestling's Drop In Ratings In 2012

Members of TNA fan site TNAInsider.com compiled data comparing Impact Wrestling's ratings over the years. Below are some visual charts and facts comparing this past years ratings and facts regarding the year.

Below is a chart comparing ratings for the show for 2011 and 2012:

Below is chart comparing the year to year average rating for Impact Wrestling from 2006 through 2012:

Here are some facts about this year's ratings:

- Impact has not had this many episodes that drew less than a 1.1 since 2007.

- Impact has not had this many episodes that drew less than a 1.0 since 2006.

- Impact has not had a year-to-year rating average this low since 2006.

- Impact Wrestling lost an average of 13% of it's Nielson ratings number in 2012.

- Impact Wrestling lost an average of 19% of it's entire viewer demographic in 2012.

- The rating for the show dropped on the very first episode that was not written by Vince Russo. The first episode written solely by the new creative team after Russo's departure fell from a 1.19 to a 1.0 rating.

- Vince Russo's highest Impact rating of the year was a 1.35. The new creative team's highest impact rating in 2012 was a 1.15 rating. Impact lost almost 17.8% of its viewers in just 7 episodes after Russo left the company.

- Impact in 2012 had only 9 episodes out of the year that drew a 1.1 or greater rating. 6 out of the 9 episodes were written by Vince Russo.

- April 12 - May 3 episodes of Impact, TNA had their first consecutive episodes of Impact Wrestling that scored less than a 1.0 rating since the Monday Night Wars of 2010. This string of episodes did not compete against the NFL.

Debunking the NFL Myth:Impact scored a higher rating during the first episode against NFL Thursday night football than the previous week without NFL competition. September 6 episode drew a 0.94 rating. The September 13th episode against the NFL drew a 0.97 rating. The second week of NFL competition saw Impact draw a 1.01 rating, which was higher than the first week of the two shows competing in the same time slot.

The last few episodes of Impact Wrestling in 2012 did not compete against NFL's Thursday Night Football, and still failed to score anything higher than a 0.99 rating.

The Debate On The 8pm Timeslot Continues:The debate on how the 8pm timeslot has affected the show since May 31st continues. There is evidence supporting both sides of the debate. Most Impact shows before May 31 scored a 1.0 rating and above, which is still below average for the show. On the other hand, only 4 out of 22 episodes of Impact Wrestling before the time change scored less than a 1.0 rating.

The Silver Lining Of Impact Moving To 8pm:While some may say that the nail in the coffin was the move to 8pm last May, Spike TV did increase an average of 20-28% during the 8pm timeslot. During the first few weeks of the year, UFC Unleashed was still being aired sporadically during the timeslot, followed by a steady rotation of re-run Spike branded reality shows. The move to 8pm may not have been a major relief that some Impact fans were hoping for, but it clearly has helped Spike TV's bottom line when it comes to the prime time slot.